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This blog provides links to current resources to help you find what is new and noteworthy in the state of Kansas. State Library staff will highlight a topic of specific interest and supply links to important news and services in the state of Kansas.

One important resource in the State Library of Kansas is the newspaper clippings. These clippings are essentially like scrap books, containing material on state governmental topics for each year from newspapers throughout the state. The State Library has these from 1913 to the present in the collection.

In earlier years, the newspaper articles were cut and pasted by the legislative staff onto sheets of heavy card stock type material. The name of the newspaper, along with the date, is handwritten at the top of the article. Currently, newspaper articles are printed out from various news sources, and compiled into binders by subject and year. An archive of the clippings, going back to 2006, is also available on the library’s website at the Kansas Newspaper Clippingspage.

The clippings are used by patrons to answer research questions, in addition to possibly providing legislative intent, especially in the earlier years when minutes were not kept for meetings. The clippings have historical value, and offer chronological coverage when researching past legislators, legislative sessions, and state agency issues.

Patrons can browse through the clippings by coming to the State Library between the hours of 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. They are located in the lower stacks, and are accessible to all patrons. The clippings can be scanned or copied, and are available for use in the library.

The pictures below are just some examples of what the earlier clippings look like. These pictures are of the title page, and page 46, from the 1943 legislative session.In the second picture, the handwriting denoting the newspaper and the date is visible at the top of each article.

Feel free to stop by the State Library of Kansas to view the clippings in person, and to research a bit of history. Also, stay tuned for more informative postings of From the Reference Desk.